Lint removing stick

ABSTRACT

A lint removing device is formed in the shape of a stick, with a central, rectangular support member and a length of pressure-sensitive adhesive material wound around the support member. The use of an essentially two-dimensional support member allows for the lint removing device to be relatively small and compact, easy to carry in a pocket or purse. The edges of the support member can be used to assist in removing used portions of the adhesive. Cuts or perforations may be formed at locations along the length of the adhesive to simplify the removal of used material. A separate protective covering layer is used to prevent debris from sticking to the adhesive between uses.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a lint removing device and, moreparticularly, to a hand-held lint removing stick having layers ofadhesive wound about a center support plate, the support plate also usedfor handling the device and allowing for the device to easily be carriedin a pocket, purse or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various means have been devised for removing undesirable particulatematter from garments, as for example, hair, lint, threads, etc. Brusheshave not proved to be entirely successful. Substrates having a stickysurface have been utilized. One such product is a roller which one rollsover the garment. The roller has a sticky surface to which the lintadheres. Used rolls are normally discarded after a period of use. U.S.Pat. No. 5,027,465 issued to N. D. McKay on Jul. 2, 1991 is illustrativeof this particular lint roller arrangement. Another type of prior artdevice, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,970 issued to M. P. Woodardon Feb. 15, 2000, is formed as a mitt which is placed over one's hand. Aprotective cover in the palm area of the mitt is then removed to exposea sticky surface which, like the roller, removes undesirable materialwith which the mitt is brought into contact.

Yet another group of prior art devices utilizes a pad of adhesive-backedleaves enclosed within an envelope-like covering, where each leaf isused once, then torn from the pad and the covering folded over until thenext use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,427 issued to R. M. King on Jul. 13, 1999and US Patent Publication 2007/0136966 authored by D. E. Aubourg andpublished on Jun. 21, 2007 are exemplary of this type of lint removaldevice.

While such “pad” arrangements are smaller and more compact than theprior art roller arrangements, the processing costs involved inmanufacturing such a pad of interleaved layers (i.e., one layer ofadhesive adjacent to a layer of coating material) results in aprohibitively expense arrangement.

Thus, a need remains in the prior art for a lint removing device that ismore portable and compact than the prior art roller arrangements, whilenot incurring the expenses involved in the pad-based arrangements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The needs remaining in the prior art are addressed by the presentinvention which relates to a lint removing device and, moreparticularly, to a hand-held lint removing stick having layers ofadhesive wound about a center support plate, the support plate also usedfor handling the device and allowing for the device to easily be carriedin a pocket, purse or the like.

In accordance with the present invention, a rectangular plate is used asthe support portion of the lint removing stick, the plate havingdimensions allowing for the stick to be easily handled and stored in apocket or purse. A thickness of the support plate on the order of aneighth of an inch or less has been found to be sufficient, with theplate formed of any suitable material such as plastic, pressed paper,wood, or the like.

A predetermined length of pressure-sensitive adhesive material,preferably having a width no longer than the length of the plate, issubsequently wound around the plate a number of times required to takeup the entire length of the adhesive (which may any desired length). Thematerial is wound such that the adhesive-coated side faces outward. Aremovable covering layer is then disposed over the wound adhesive toprotect the outermost layer when not being used.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the width of thepressure-sensitive adhesive material is selected to be less than thelength of the support plate, allowing at least one end portion of theplate to exposed and used as a handle for the lint removing stick.Indeed, the adhesive may be centrally disposed across the length of asupport plate such that both ends of the plate are exposed, where eachend may be used as a handle. In a further embodiment, one or both of theend terminations of the support plate may be rounded or otherwisefinished to allow for ease in handling.

Advantageously, the lint removing device requires no moving parts,simplifying its manufacture and cost when compared to various prior artdevices.

The adhesive material may be formed to include perforations atpredetermined locations along the entire length so as to allow for usedportions of the adhesive material to be easily removed. Alternatively,full-width cuts may be made through the adhesive material instead ofrelying on perforations. Partial cuts may also be used, as disclosed inthe above-cited McKay patent.

It is preferred that at least one edge of the pressure-sensitivematerial remain adhesive-free, for ease of handling. In particular, apreferred embodiment would have each edge, along the entire length ofthe pressure-sensitive adhesive, remain free of the adhesive substance.

Other and further advantages and arrangements of the present inventionwill become apparent during the course of the following discussion andby reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings, where like numerals refer to like partsin several views:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a lint removing stick formed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cut-away side view of the stick of FIG. 1, taken along line2-2;

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative support plate embodiment, including arounded end termination;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary portion of adhesive material to be woundround the support plate, in this case including regularly-spaced cuts toaid in removing used sections of the adhesive;

FIG. 5 is yet another embodiment of the present invention, in this caseincluding a protective covering disposed to surround the periphery ofthe adhesive; and

FIG. 6 is another view of the embodiment of FIG. 5, in this case withthe protective covering removed and shown alongside the lint removingstick.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an exemplary lint removal stick 10 formedin accordance with the present invention. As shown, stick 10 includes aninner rectangular plate 12 of predetermined dimensions, with a length ofpressure-sensitive adhesive material 14 wound around plate 12 to createthe arrangement as shown. It is an aspect of the present invention thatlint removal stick 10 is easily hand-held and can be carried in a pocketor purse. To that end, the specific dimensions of length L, width W andthickness T of plate 12 are developed in consideration of these goals.Additionally, plate 12 may be formed of any suitable material including,but not limited to, a lightweight, rigid plastic, wood, cardboard or thelike.

As shown, adhesive material 14 is formed to comprise a width w which ispreferably less than the length L of plate 12. This limitation isrequired so that at least one end termination of plate 12 remainsexposed to be used as a handle for stick 10. In the arrangement of FIG.1, an end termination 16 of plate 12 is shown as being exposed beyond afirst edge 18 of adhesive material 14. It is to be understood, however,that this width is merely a preferable alternative and, indeed, theadhesive material may extend beyond the dimensions of the plate andstill fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Adhesive material 14 may itself comprise any of the well-knownpressure-sensitive adhesive materials currently used as lint removers invarious forms. The particular characteristics of the selected materialare not considered to be germane to the subject matter of the presentinvention as long as when properly used lint and other particulateforeign material can be easily removed from a garment or any otherfabric surface.

FIG. 2 is a cut-away side view of lint removal stick 10 of FIG. 1, inthis view illustrating the winding of adhesive material 14 around plate12. For the purposes of illustration, the spacing between adjacentlayers of adhesive material 14 is exaggerated. In actual implementation,the relatively thin layers are compacted one against the other such thatthe final thickness TF of stick 10 is easily handled.

As mentioned above, plate 12 may comprise various alternativeconfigurations to ease in the use of the produce. For example, at leastone end termination of plate 12 may be rounded to use as a handle. FIG.3 illustrates this particular arrangement, with a first end 20 of plate12 being rounded. Pressure-sensitive adhesive material 14 is shown inphantom in this view. For this particular embodiment, the width w ofmaterial 14 is selected such that both end terminations of plate 12 arevisible. A second end termination 22 (in this example, not rounded) isalso shown in FIG. 3.

One advantage of using a flat plate as a central core in a lint removingdevice is that a longitudinal edge of the plate, such as edge 24 ofplate 12 as shown in FIG. 3, can be used as a guide to tear off a usedportion of the adhesive. Alternatively, the adhesive material can bemanufactured to include a set of fairly evenly-spaced through-cuts (orseries of perforations) to assist in removing a used section ofadhesive. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary portion of adhesive material14, in this case include a series of spaced through-cuts 30.Through-cuts 30 are formed along adhesive material 14 during itsmanufacture, prior to winding material 14 around plate 12. As mentionedabove, partial cuts along adhesive material 14 (or perforations) may beused in place of through-cuts 30 to assist in removing “used” sectionsof adhesive material.

It is also preferable that at least one edge portion of adhesivematerial 14 remain “adhesive free” to assist in separating the windingsduring use and removal of used portions. The embodiment of adhesivematerial 14 as shown in FIG. 4 illustrates this preferred arrangement,in this case with both top edge 32 and bottom edge 34 beingadhesive-free strips. It is to be understood that the dimensions ofstrips 32 and 34 are design choices, and may vary from application toapplication, particularly as a function of the strength of thepressure-sensitive material being used.

Inasmuch as the lint removal stick of the present invention is intendedto be carried with an individual, either in a pocket, purse or othersuitable means, it is preferred that a removable covering layer bemaintained over the outer, exposed layer of adhesive material 14 whennot in use. FIG. 5 is an exemplary isometric view of lint removal stick10 of the present invention, in this case with a protective coveringlayer 40 disposed to surround and adhere to the outermost portion ofadhesive material 14. Protective covering layer 40 is formed from aneasily removable material (such as a coated paper) that may be removedand re-applied at will. FIG. 6 is a view of this arrangement withcovering layer 40 shown as removed from, and placed next to, stick 10.

While the present invention has been described above in accordance withpreferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various otherimplementations and configurations are possible and are considered tofall within the scope of the invention. Indeed, the scope of the presentinvention is intended to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.

1. A lint removing device comprising a central support plate ofpredetermined dimensions, said support plate including a pair oflongitudinal, parallel edges of length L disposed between first andsecond end terminations; and pressure-sensitive adhesive material ofwidth w, said pressure-sensitive adhesive material wound around thecentral support plate such that the adhesive is exposed facing outwardlyand wound to cover the pair of longitudinal, parallel edges of saidcentral support plate.
 2. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1wherein the width w of the pressure-sensitive adhesive material isselected to be essentially no greater than the length L of the centralsupport plate.
 3. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 whereinthe width w of said pressure-sensitive adhesive material is selected tobe less than the length L of the central support plate, saidpressure-sensitive material thereby positioned along the central supportplate such that at least one end termination of the plate is exposed. 4.A lint removing device as defined in claim 3 wherein thepressure-sensitive material is essentially centrally positioned alongthe support plate such that both first and second end terminations ofsupport plate are exposed.
 5. A lint removing device as defined in claim1 wherein the central support plate is rectangular in form.
 6. A lintremoving device as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one endtermination of the central support plate is rounded.
 7. A lint removingdevice as defined in claim 1 wherein the central support plate comprisesa plastic material.
 8. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1wherein the central support plate comprises a paper material.
 9. A lintremoving device as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitiveadhesive material includes through-cuts across the width atpredetermined locations along the length thereof.
 10. A lint removingdevice as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesivematerial includes partial cuts across the width at predeterminedlocations along the length thereof.
 11. A lint removing device asdefined in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive materialincludes perforations across the width at predetermined locations alongthe length thereof.
 12. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive material comprises at least onelongitudinal edge strip which remains free of adhesive.
 13. A lintremoving device as defined in claim 12 wherein opposing longitudinaledge strips of the pressure-sensitive adhesive material remain free ofadhesive.
 14. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein thedevice further comprises a separate, reusable cover layer disposed tosurround and protect the exposed adhesive material.
 15. A lint removingdevice as defined in claim 14 wherein the separate cover layer comprisesa coated paper material.